Compromises

…

Kong reached the temple before Godzilla, pushing open the massive doors. White light from the lichen filled the dim cave, washing out the crystal's ethereal blue glow. Kong walked around the crystal, looking down at it as Godzilla entered behind him.

The Iwi that remained inside scattered. With two Titans inside, the massive temple felt much smaller. The crystal wavered in Godzilla's presence. The floor lit up under his feet, spreading outwards like veins of sapphire blood.

After a long look at the crystal, Kong turned to leave, stopping when he faced the door. Jia was there standing at the entrance with Nathan, Ilene, and Ren. She signed something to Kong with a determined expression.

Kong did something unexpected in response. He signed something back. Ilene had used the gesture before when she'd tell Jia to be careful.

Jia smiled and watched Kong leave.

It makes me glad we can talk like this. Came Godzilla's voice in the back of her mind.

She turned back to him, Whyley's arm still over her shoulders. The Iwi seem to think it comes with age. We bond more as we get older and our brain develops.

They are both young.

I'm sure most things are relative to you.

Our enemy is one of the few who are older than I.

On the far side of the crystal, Godzilla slowly lay down.

Well, this is apparently his only weakness if the Iwi are right.

Kong will make use of it nonetheless.

Once he was settled, Amara went to lead Whyley over.

"Amara, wait," Ilene called from behind them. She was holding Nathan not too dissimilarly to the way Whyley held Amara.

"I'm so sorry, Amara, it escalated so quickly. I tried to talk them out of it, but—how? Did you really call him?"

"Are you like Jia?" Nathan asked. His voice was quiet, but that was more likely due to the malaise than discretion.

"In a lot of ways, yes."

Nathan and Ilene looked at each other.

Jia approached from the doorway. She signed something up to Whyley, drawing everyone's attention.

"Yeah, she's okay," he said, gesturing with his free hand.

"Jia, did you know?" Ilene mouthed while signing.

Slowly, Jia nodded. Then she made a couple of signs and beat her hand rhythmically over her chest.

"She says you and Godzilla have the same heartbeat," Ilene said, eyes lifting from Amara to Godzilla who peered at them.

In unspoken agreement, they all went quiet. The Iwi around them seemed to still in the silence almost as if they were listening too.

It was more like a feeling than a sound. Like a bass drum too far or quiet to really hear, but it was there, beating.

Amara put a hand up to her chest. It thrummed against her palm, as sure and steady as the heartbeat around them. Rest assured by the other's presence.

They'd passed the first obstacle and were now in the eye of the storm. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable. But here and now—a moment of respite.

The others were looking at her, a million questions forming behind their stares.

"You should let Nathan lie down," Amara said. "I'll talk to you guys later."

"Come on, Ilene." Nathan nudged her.

"Oh, yeah, rest…yeah," she mumbled.

Amara didn't give them a chance to speak before pulling Whyley with her toward Godzilla.

She looked up at Whyley. "You're awfully quiet."

He frowned and shook his head. "Just…tired," he said just barely loud enough to hear.

Godzilla's amber eye watched them approach. Once they were close enough, he shifted his arm until his claws touched his nose. The wall of scale completely sheltered them from everyone else.

Amara sat down against Godzilla's jaw. Whyley heavily sat down beside her despite the lack of usual gear he carried. Dirty and tearstained, his face was bruised. Blood was smeared under his cut lip and in his eyebrow.

When he looked back at her, he screwed his eyes shut and turned away.

"I couldn't do anything," he said weakly. "I thought I was going to watch you die, again."

She took his hand. "We're alright."

He covered his face with his other hand. His shoulders shook.

Like he did for her, she pulled him into her arms as he cried. He held her as if he feared someone would come and take her away.

He has failed to protect you yet again.

It's not for a lack of trying,

Then he must try harder if you wish me to trust him with your life.

Neither of us knew the crystal would put on a light show when I touched it. If he did, he wouldn't have let me go near it. You told me to touch the crystal and I did.

I did not think it would react in such a way either. All I knew was that its radiation would extend our reach.

Well now we know and you can stop blaming him.

Do not let your feelings get in the way, Amara.

What do you have against him anyway? He's proved himself time and time again.

I have nothing against him. I cannot.

The thought was quiet. Something he was unwilling to admit.

Why?

Because I am forced to care about who you care about, and right now I cannot afford to care about anyone other than you.

You didn't have complaints about Tao.

Those were different times, Amara. You know this.

He was right, there was no denying it. Being with Tao was a luxury during a calm period of her life. Other than a short time after the battle in Tokyo, she'd never spent time with Whyley outside of dangerous situations.

When she pictured life with Tao, it was peaceful by the sea. A refuge from the realities of being connected to a Titan. But Whyley was there in the worst of times. Ready to stand by her side and take on anything that threatened her or Godzilla.

Whyley took a deep breath. He sat up slightly, but still leaned on her.

"I knew something bad was going to happen after you touched the crystal. I knew it—and there was still nothing I could do. It's like no matter how hard I try, everything still goes wrong."

Amara couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I know the feeling," she said lightly. "Still, you managed to talk to Jia. She must have called Kong not long after that."

"I told her that you called Godzilla, but she already knew that. All I did was tell her about our plan. She told me she didn't want to leave Kong in the Hollow Earth and that she wanted to stay and help us." His voice broke again. "Then I heard Ilene say something about a ceremony. When I got up, a bunch of Iwi grabbed me. I didn't want to hurt them, but they wouldn't let go." He blinked away tears. "And you're the one that was almost killed but I'm the one crying."

Amara squeezed his hand while he used the other to wipe his cheeks. "I was so sure they weren't going to kill me. That they would see it wasn't Hollow Godzilla and let me go. But then the other elder grabbed me and I thought—maybe it was meant to be. Maybe everything does happen for a reason and that was how I was supposed to die. Maybe Godzilla would continue to exist without me or maybe he would die and Hollow Godzilla would take his place." A bitter laugh escaped her. "I really do owe Jia my life."

Whyley sat up more so he could look her in the eye. "How can you just accept it?"

"It's not the first time I've stared death in the face, and it probably won't be the last. Here," she said, patting her thighs. "I owe you that nap too."

Whyley didn't budge. "Promise me you're not just going to get yourself killed because you think it's your time. You can't do that to yourself or Godzilla—"

"Of course I'm not going down without a fight. But that doesn't mean I can't get into hopeless situations. That's why I have Godzilla and Jia and you."

His eyes dropped as he nodded. This time he did move, scooting away and resting his head on her legs.

He looked up at her as she ran her fingers through his hair. Slower and slower he blinked until they stayed closed.

…

The girl is coming.

Amara opened her eyes. It took a moment for them to adjust to the light. When had she fallen asleep?

Whyley was still lying on her lap. He hadn't moved an inch and showed no sign of waking up any time soon.

Movement caused her to look up. Jia clambered through the gaps between Godzilla's fingers. Once through, she adjusted the Iwi dress she was wearing and ran over to Amara, in her hand was a folded piece of paper and one of Whyley's pencils.

Without hesitation, Jia sat down next to Amara, leaning against Godzilla's scales. She unfolded the paper and put it against Whyley's shin.

"Ilene says the HEAV will be ready in a few hours," she wrote.

"Already?" Amara said out loud before writing it down, this time using Whyley's chest. His finger twitched.

"You've been sleeping forever! Godzilla wouldn't let me through earlier." She passed Amara the paper.

"So is it time to call Kong back?"

"I will soon." Jia paused, frowning. Amara leaned over more to see what she was writing. "I don't want to leave Kong. I want to stay with you."

Amara read the words twice over. What was she supposed to say to that?

That Kong will want her to be safe. Even if that means being apart.

I thought we established that was the wrong thing to do.

Jia looked up from the paper to Amara. Her expression was analytical. Amara didn't react when she took back the paper.

Just because it is wrong, does not mean it's not true.

So you want Jia to do to Kong what you did to me?

Jia handed her the paper again. "Are you talking to him?"

Amara nodded.

I wanted you to be safe. My presence brings you nothing but danger. Even now, you were almost killed because of me.

But you haven't told me to stay away from your upcoming battle with Hollow Godzilla yet.

Because I already know your answer… And I may need you. He will not be easy to defeat. But I want you to keep your distance. I fear we do not know the extent of his power.

I don't go out of my way to get killed. Unlike you.

I have my duty to uphold.

Amara sighed and wrote on the paper.

"I'll ask the others if they can wait."

Jia's eye'seyes lit up when she read the words. "Does that mean Godzilla wants me to stay with Kong?"

"It's not an easy topic for us. He believes Kong would want you to be safe, but at the same time it's hard to be apart. We will ask Ilene, but it's up to her."

Like Godzilla said. It may not be the right decision, but who was she to make it for Jia? Though she was still young, she wasn't dumb. In fact, she was incredibly wise for her age, be that from her Iwi heritage or the hard life she'd already lived.

Plus having her there with Kong could make things easier.

Jia read the words with an expression of reverence. Like she was the one talking to Godzilla, or perhaps imagining what it would be like for her to talk to Kong the same way.

Amara didn't expect what she wrote down next.

"Are Godzilla and Kong friends now?"

That is a strong word. Godzilla's thought ran through her mind as she replied.

"Godzilla respects Kong. He knows Kong is a dependable ally."

Jia smiled at that. She put her hands against Godzilla's scales and nuzzled him with her cheek.

She is a good balance for Kong. His thought was warm.

She is.

Standing up, Jia helped Amara move out from under Whyley. He barely stirred as Amara laid his head down on the ground.

Once he was settled, Amara took Jia's hand. She blinked, looking from Amara's hand to her face.

"Thank you," Amara said earnestly.

Jia beamed, her lips forming the sweetest smile known to man.

As she and Jia neared his claws, Godzilla lazily opened an eye. He slid his arm back, creating a small gap. Amara put her hand on his nose as she passed though.through. Once they were on the other side, he readjusted and closed the small opening.

The twins weren't far. They shot up at the sight of Amara. They came up and interlaced their fingers in front of their bowed heads. Other Iwi walked over and joined. It felt more like an apology than anything.

The elders approached as she and Jia neared the entrance of the temple. They made the same gesture as the others before backing away from her and Jia, allowing them to pass through the open door.

Amara acknowledged them with a nod. As much as she shouldn't hold it against them, they were ready to kill her only hours ago.

At least it all worked out in the end, thanks to Jia.

Outside the temple, Ilene was passing Nathan a protein bar. HeThe latter was sitting, leaning against the doorway of the HEAV. Even from where Amara stood, he looked ill.

Jia ran ahead, drawing Ilene's attention to her. "There you are," she said while signing. "I told you to stay close."

As Amara approached, Ilene noticed her. Her eyes widened and she stood up straight as if she had no idea how to act.

A hundred ways to bring up the conversation crossed Amara's mind, but what was the point? There wasn't time to beat around the bush anymore. She waved Ilene to follow her out of earshot of the others.

"I need Jia to stay a bit longer."

"What do you mean you need her? Just because it turns out you're special too, doesn't give you any authority over her."

"She doesn't want to leave Kong behind while Hollow Godzilla still poses a threat. And she and I can help Kong and Godzilla fight together."

"Godzilla and Kong have shown they can fight together perfectly well without you and Jia. I don't care about what statistical advantage it might have, I'm not risking Jia's life over it."

"So what? If that advantage is the difference between Kong living or dying, you're willing to risk Jia dying as well?"

At this Ilene froze. Her posture tensed and a look of sheer fury overcame her expression. "Do you know something I don't?"

"All I'm saying is that from my experience with Godzilla, there is a chance that no matter what the distance, if Kong dies, Jia could too."

"What experience?" Ilene asked tersely.

"When I first really connected with Godzilla, I could see his past. I saw his father die peacefully with the human that was linked to him."

Ilene put a hand up to stop her. "What do you mean you saw his past?"

"That's not important—"

"You're saying you can see Godzilla's memories? Can Jia see Kong's?"

"I don't know Jia's connection to Kong well, but I think the Iwi are right in saying that the connection gets stronger with age. Right now their connection seems more emotional with very base level communication. Maybe with age, it will develop more into things like sharing thoughts or memories—even vision at times. Look, Ilene, the only reason I'm telling you this is so you know how strong their connection really is. Tearing her away from him will probably only make the situation worse. They will be stronger together."

Ilene took a moment to process the information. "If all this is true and I'm not just going crazy, then is that why Godzilla's here, in the Hollow Earth?"

"The connection's like a string or a magnet. It can stretch or span indefinitely but it grows weaker over long distances. The further away, the stronger the emotion or thought has to be to cross the distance. I didn't want Godzilla to know I was down here, I didn't want him to know what we were up to, but when we woke up Hollow Godzilla, I panicked and Godzilla felt it. And even though I was trying to keep myself separated and the distance between us, he was still close. Somewhere on the surface above where we were. The difference between him and Kong though, is Kong lacks the means to get here and back to the surface."

Ilene averted her eyes, looking back towards the HEAV. "I'm sorry Amara, I can't let her stay for the battle. We need to get her and Nathan to the surface safe, not during or after a battle we don't know we can win. You saw the mural. That Godzilla has some sort of super powerful attack that killed all the Kongs. There's no way we know we could survive even if Godzilla and Kong could." She paused, the owlish expression returning to her face. "You on the other hand—Godzilla can protect you, right? More than Kong could for us I mean. Nathan and Jia might not be able to handle the situation as well as you."

"It's fine, Ilene. Leaving Hollow Godzilla here would be wrong anyway. He'd go after Kong until he couldn't run anymore then he'd go after the Iwi. Who knows, maybe he'd go to the surface after that. So while you guys run from the problem, me, Whyley, Godzilla, and Kong will stay to fix the problem."

"That's not what we're doing. We want to come back and get you, bring help if we have to—And what about Whyley? You mean he's not coming with us?"

"No, he's not. He's staying to help me."

"Why didn't you tell us? We spent all that extra time putting in that seat!"

"Because I need Jia to call Kong back as soon as Godzilla's done absorbing the radiation from the crystal. Then he's going to make the crystal into a weapon and they're both going to leave the temple so Hollow Godzilla doesn't come destroy it."

"What are you guys arguing about?"

They both turned toward the approaching Nathan. He was leaning heavily on his cane. Ilene immediately ran over to help support him. Jia followed him over, looking between Amara and Ilene, hope shining in her eyes.

"I'm asking Ilene if she'll let Jia help me," Amara said.

"What do you need her help with?" he asked.

"At the very least I need her to wait until Godzilla is done charging in the temple and then call Kong. If you do that, we can all take the HEAV to follow them to some other location to fight so they don't hurt the Iwi. Then you can drop us off and leave after that."

"Us?"

"Whyley's staying with her," Ilene answered before she could.

"Of course he is," said Ren coming from behind. "At least I won't have to hear him crying about leaving her behind." He stopped beside Ilene. "If you're done with your private conversation, the HEAV is ready to go."

"I thought you said it would be at least another hour," Ilene said.

"Sooner now that I don't have to retorque all the bolts in that seat."

Amara looked back to Ilene. "And what about our deal?"

Ren rolled his eyes and put a hand over his chest. "The crystals with the power to change the world are our little secret."

Neither of the two beside him condoned the action.

Jia, who had stood quietly awaiting the verdict, finally signed up to Ilene.

"No, Jia, I'm not letting you stay."

"Ilene, let her at least call Kong like Amara asked. We go with the Titans away from the Iwi and say our goodbyes there." He looked at her. "It will be our thank you for staying behind."

Amara inclined her head. As thank you's go, this was about what she would have expected from him.

"You guys should go ahead and start packing the HEAV," he continued, turning to Ren and Ilene.

They agreed, Ren giving her a final sour look before going back to the temple. Ilene hesitantly let go of Nathan and ushered Jia away, the latter frowning back at Amara with glassy eyes.

Nathan leaned on his cane. Though the temperature was mild, his complexion resembled someone suffering from heatstroke. He really needed to go lie down.

"You really should reconsider your deal with Ilene. Those crystals will change the world for the better."

When Amara didn't say anything, he continued, "Look—we're all scientists here. You know I'm a geologist so I know better than anyone what people will do to collect natural resources. But it won't be that bad—" he put a hand on her shoulder. "Since there are people still down here there will be regulations, laws, research. We're not going to come down here with bombs, you know that."

Amara glanced down at his hand. Was he really trying this now? Was he really going to pretend like they both didn't know exactly what would happen?

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself? Because what I learned in history class is very different than what you're implying. And in case you've forgotten what the world's like, despite what people might say, it's only gotten worse, not better." She stepped away from him, his hand slipping from her shoulder. "So if I find out you or Ren go back to the surface and try anything, you'll have Godzilla to deal with."

She turned and left, heading back to the temple.

"I get it now," he called after her. When she turned around, he was coughing. "Why you're so willing to go against humanity. You never were on our side. You were on his."

She didn't answer. There was nothing to say. He was right.

…